According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), almost 8 million high schoolers in North America participate in some academic sport. The recent number has reached an all time high from last year’s survey with a remarkable jump of 95,000. Every day kids spend approximately an hour and a half each day practicing their sport, sometimes even twice a day. They run drills, lift weights, and sprint laps- all to compete at their peak performance. Although these kids put in blood, sweat, and tears, somehow, for the state of Massachusetts, this is not enough.
The state of Massachusetts says that each and every kid in the public school system is required to maintain a P.E. credit through all four years of high school- along with any other sport they participate in. Each year they are required to take the FitnessGram to determine where their physical fitness is depending on the number of reps you can do for the exercise given- below average, average, good, and excellent. Yes, it even says that on the piece of paper you circle to determine your self worth to the public school system. Why do we need to depend our self worth on a bunch of numbers?
For Massachusetts schools, a student is required to take a physical education class each year in addition to any other sport they choose to take. This is unfair to the athletes who are practicing about an hour and a half each day. They are pushing their bodies, increasing their stamina, and building their strength. They will burn double the calories in one practice than in the 45 minutes a P.E. class takes, yet the class that requires less effort is the one that is actually worth the credit.
For Texas high schools, (and junior high schools), a P.E. credit is deemed necessary, however, a P.E. class is not necessary. As a 7th grader, you have the options of taking either a P.E. class, tennis, or athletics for your physical education credit, and in 9th grade you have an additional option to be a part of marching band, which counts a P.E. credit, along with a fine arts credit. If you choose tennis or athletics over P.E., you are able to drop the P.E. class entirely and substitute your class period with your sport chosen. If one does not want to participate in any sports, then the P.E. class will always be available, but for athletes, it is an ample opportunity to excel at their sport.
As a high school senior who recently moved here from Texas, I haven’t taken P.E. class since sixth grade. It baffles me that high schoolers are still required to take P.E. class. While many people can agree, there are others who say that P.E. remains an important part of a high school experience. P.E. coach Michael Cecere argues that if an athlete gets a waiver counting sports as credit then “he/she will not be exposed to the wide variety of activities” offered in P.E. While this is true about P.E., students have had 7 years of experience this wide variety of activities.
High school is the time to make your mark and to think about your future. Colleges are out looking for the next best thing, so showcasing your talent and dedication is much more important than spending time on Kan Jam and spike ball.
Private schools in Massachusetts have started to count sports as credit and now is the time that public schools follow suit. It is time for hard work to be rewarded.